WHILE affirming its decision to cancel the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will not yet proclaim other organizations and nominees that would take their seats in the House of Representatives.
In an interview in Zamboanga City, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they want to wait for the decision to become final and executory, especially amid the possibility of the case being brought to the Supreme Court (SC).
"Hihintayin muna namin ang disposition ng Supreme Court bilang judicial courtesy. Therefore, kailangan hintayin natin ang period of finality," said Garcia.
(We will first wait for the disposition of the Supreme Court as judicial courtesy. Therefore, we need to wait for the period of finality.)
The poll chief said the Comelec en banc is already preparing for a scenario wherein it will have to proclaim other party-list groups.
"Sa Miyerkules (September 3) na darating ay pag-uusapan ng Commission en banc paano kung sakaling maging pinal ang tungkol sa kanselasyon ng registration ng Duterte Youth Party-list, sino ang kinakailangang humalinhin doon sa tatlong seats na dapat ay nakuha ng naturang party-list? Sino ang dapat na i-proklama ng Komisyon?" said Garcia.
(This coming Wednesday, the Commission en banc will discuss what to do if the cancellation of the Duterte Youth Party-list’s registration becomes final—who should replace them in the three seats that the said party-list should have obtained? Who should the Commission proclaim)
"Ang Comelec en banc, acting as the National Board of Canvassers, will have to decide kung sino ang ipoproklama namin doon sa tatlong seats na mababakante ng naturang party-list," he added.
(The Comelec En Banc, acting as the National Board of Canvassers, will have to decide who we will proclaim to fill the three seats vacated by the said party-list.)
Garcia said they will consult with the Comelec Law Department as well as the supervisory group of the National Board of Canvassers.
On Friday, in a vote of 5-1-1, the Comelec en banc affirmed the cancellation of the registration of the Duterte Youth party-list.
In its 10-page Resolution, the Comelec en banc ruled to affirm the June 18 decision of the Commission's Second Division canceling the registration of Duterte Youth party-list.
The Comelec, however, said Duterte Youth may still appeal the commission’s decision before the Supreme Court.
The Duterte Youth received 2,338,564 votes in the May 2025 midterm polls and is entitled to three seats in the House of Representatives.
However, its proclamation was put on hold by the National Board of Canvassers due to the pending cases it was facing at the time. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)